Designing Posters, Brochures and PowerPoint Presentations May 16, 2011

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RhetoricVisual RhetoricDocument DesignLegibility, Readability, Usability Visual Noise

VISUAL RHETORIC DOCUMENT DESIGN

LEGIBILITY

Capable of being read or deciphered

READABILITY

Able to be read easily

USABILITY is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object.

TOO MUCH TOO MANY

The rhetoric of visuals vary by discipline, purpose, audience, message, medium

Working in pair, analyze the journal pages you brought to the workshop. Make a note of any disciplinary similarities or differences you notice.

What visual elements do you see here? What purpose do these visual

elements serve?

How effectively do they serve that purpose?

Are they connected to the text?

How do you use images in your professional life? Your personal life?

What questions do you ask yourself when deciding to use an image or visual device?

1. Thinking Rhetorically about Visuals2. Using Basis Design Principles3. Working within Genre Convention

Considering Purpose and Audience for Design

Subject

Audience Author

MessageMedium

MessageMedium

Tim

e

Purpose

Context

Purpose Kind of visuals

Show what something looks like Photographs, line art

Show relationships among data Bar graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, scatter graphs

Show conceptual relationships among ideas

Concept diagrams (Venn diagrams, network diagrams, organizational charts)

Emphasize and reinforce information

Simplify complex processes Illustrations, flow charts

Show how things are related in space

Maps

Provide a simple mark for an idea

Pictograms

Add interest/ Establish a visual tone

Decorative graphics

Purpose: What is my purpose in writing/designing? What message do I want to convey? What is my most important goal?

Writer/Designer: How do I want to appear in my text? What is my point of view? How can I convince my audience to take me seriously?

Subject: What is this document about? What other works will I refer to? Where can I find facts and other supporting material?

Audience: Who is my audience? What does my audience already know and believe about my topic? What do they need to know? How can I get them interested in my subject?

Timing (kairos) & Context: what recent events may affect the reception of this topic? What cultural expectation are there?

Medium/Genre: What medium will I use (Print, electronic, handwriting, paint, film, etc.)? What genre will I use (essay, journal, letter, photograph, story, etc.)?

Ethos: “the sense the user gathers of the speaker’s character” (Document Design, 65)

Logos: “the logical or factual information conveyed by the document” (65)

Pathos: “aspects of the document intended to evoke an emotional response in the user” (65)

Why do we need to consider rhetorical appeals in designing/evaluating visuals?

1.Think PARC2.Location, Location, Location3.Knowing Color and Text: Less is

More

ProximityAlignmentRepetitionContrast

CRAP

From Robin Williams, The Non-designer’s Design Book.

Purpose: organize informationHow to achieve: group into 3-5 visual

unitsAvoid:

Too many separate elements Putting things in corners Equal amounts of white space unless each

element is a subset Creating relationships among things that don’t

belong together

Purpose: unify and organize How to achieve it: Be conscious of what

things are aligning together To avoid:

Multiple kinds of alignment Centered alignment (harder to read)

Purpose: visual interest and unity.How to achieve: Be consistent with

visual elementsAvoid: Too many design elements

competing for attention

Image from http://www.maddisondesigns.com/blog/2009/03/the-5-basic-principles-of-design/

Purpose: add interest, emphasisHow to get it:

Type face Line thicknesses Color Shapes Sizes

Design objects:ShapeOrientationTextureColorValuesSize Position

LayoutOrder (arrangement)Focus

Power ZonesGridsWhite space

Power Zones & the Z pattern

Specific to genre

In document design, negative space is often referred to as “white space.”

Some tips: Use white space to balance the density of

print and make the page inviting Leave a one-inch margin around the page Use ragged rather than justified right

margins Set off headings with white space Use white space consistently to show

organization and hierarchy of ideas

Negative space can be used to draw attention to:

▪ Margins▪ Gutters

Image by Frank Curkovic, “Positive and Negative Space,” http://artinspired.pbworks.com/Positive-and-Negative-Space.

Positive space Negative space

Place important information in “power zone”

Put related information together/white space

Break up long paragraphs (Lists) Use numbers with lists to imply

hierarchy Use indents to “layer” information Consider using columns to break up

dense text

What style do I want for my text (formal, academic, informal, fanciful, casual, etc.)? What tone should I adopt (witty, serious, etc.)?

How can you convey a visual style?ColorFontsBalance

Select at least three colors that you feel works well together

Less is MORE

Colors Primary Secondary Tertiary

Color Harmonies:

▪ Monochromatic (colors in same hue)

▪ Analogous (colors around central hue)

▪ Complementary (colors opposite each other)

Don’t overuse color Use the expected meaning of color

▪ Warm colors▪ Cool colors▪ Red▪ Primary Colors▪ Pastels

Consider audience needs (color blindness)

A. Original Image, B. Color-blind proof, C. Optimal Image

From: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/illustrator/overview.html#validation

“Typography enables us to see writing in material terms as letter-forms, printed pages, posters, computer screens. It helps to name the available tools of representation that composers draw on to make their own means of production. [And] typography links writing to delivery . . . The visual design of writing figures prominently as the material form in which the message is delivered.”

--John Trimbur, “Delivering the Message: Typography and the Materiality of Writing.” Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World, p. 263.

Kind of Typeface

Description Examples

Serif Text that facilitates reading by directing the eye across a line of text

Georgia, Times New Roman, Garamond

Sans Serif More vertical than serif; direct the eye down; useful for headings, captions, titles, lists

Arial, Calibri, Tahoma

Script Resembles handwriting or calligraphy

Mistral, Comic Sans, Kristen

Blackletter

Resembles early Modern script Old English Text

Inscribed Resembles stone inscription Imprint MT, Castellar

Engraved Resembles metal inscriptions Edwardian Script, Kunstler Script

Grunge Draws attention to artistic value of type

Curlz MT, Chiller, Jokerman

Dingbats Provides images for glyphs Wingdings

Adapted from Miles A. Kimball and Ann R. Hawkins, Document Design, p. 165

Limit each page to 2 or 3 typefaces

Use medium-weight type.

Use italics and bold sparingly, for emphasis

Use upper & lower-case letters for most text.

ALL CAPITALS MAKES READING DIFFICULT.

Size Shape Color Value Position Symmetrical Asymmetrical

Images from Gary Klass, “Presenting Data,” http://lilt.ilstu.edu/gmklass/pos138/datadisplay/badchart.htm

What is wrong with this image?

According to Gary Klass, there are three principles of bad data presentation: Data Ambiguity Data Distortion and Data Distraction

source:LA Times, August 5, 1979, from Gary Klass, “Presenting Data” http://lilt.ilstu.edu/gmklass/pos138/datadisplay/badchart.htm

Make sure all data are clearly labeled

Begin at zero and use equal increments

Use bar graphs, not pie chartsAvoid replacing bars with picturesPresent data variation, not design

variationExplain how the image relates

Creating effective posters

Font types Title 72-100 Subtitles 30-50 Body text 26-30

Grid: 3 to 4 columns

Layout Rhetorical purpose of Panal

1165

2 3 4

Panel 1 = The Outside Front Cover Panels 2, 3, 4 = Inside SpreadPanel 5 = DrawPanel 6 = Contact Info

must be an attention grabber ... it should capture the attention of your target audience

arouse sufficient interest to want to pick it up and open it.

Here are some things to include on the Outside Front Cover. A colour picture A key benefit of the event A tease ... a provocative question Key information of the event ...

information at a glance

Headings Information (Logos)

Facts Stats examples

Striking Images (Pathos)

The first to be seen inside Very important Draws the audience in Use Pathos

Back Panel Provides Contact information

▪ Addresses▪ Maps▪ Websites

Motivates the target audience

AlignmentSimilarityContrastOrderProximityEnclosure

One single clear message

The 6x6 rule No more than six words per line No more than 6 slides per slide

One slide per minute rule

Sentences vs. Phrases

Consider the aspects of document design that we’ve just discussed. Which of these aspects are most important to you? Working with 2-3 faculty members, decide which aspects you would consider in evaluating student visuals and draft a basic rubric. You might choose from the following (or additional criteria of your own):

Invention Arrangement Style Delivery

Purpose Visual organization

Color Typography

Audience consideration

Document design (proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast)

Use of white space (visual appeal)

Accessibility of important info

Appropriate medium/genre

Balance Purposeful use of images

Appropriate labels for images

Using the rubric you have just created, assess a sample student document.

How well does your rubric work to assess the document?

What areas does your rubric assess well?

What areas does your rubric struggle to assess? Is there anything missing from your rubric?

DuFrene, Debbie D. and Carol M. Lehman. “Concept, Content, Construction, and Contingencies: Getting the Hart Before the PowerPoint Cart.” Business Communication Quarterly. Mar 2004: 84-88.

Dlugan, Andrew. “ Speech Analysis #1: How to Study and Critique a Speech.” Six Minutes: Public Speaking and Presentation Blog. 18 Jan 2008. 5 May 2009. <http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/2008/01/18/speech-evaluation-1-how-to-study-critique-speech/>

Faigley, Lester, Diana George, Anna Palchik, and Cynthia Selfe. Picturing Texts. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004.

Handa, Carolyn, ed. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.

Kimball, Miles A., Ann R. Hawkins. Document Design: A Guide for Technical Communicators. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.

Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking. 3rd edition. New York: Random House, 1989.

Redmond, Mark V., and Denise Vrchota. Everyday Public Speaking. Boston: Pearson, 2007.

Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer’s Design Book. 2nd edition. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2004.